The story of Bella Goth
by JonnaJacobsen
Summary: This is the story of Belladonna Bachelor and her life. Rated M in case something happens and because I have forgotten what the ratings mean.
1. Intro

Intro

_Author's note:_

_This is my take on the Bella Goth story. Of her life, from early childhood, to the where she is abducted. The story starts a summer day in 1948, when Bella is seven, turning eight, years old._

_The story contains elements of the Supernatural and in later chapters, there MIGHT be sexual scenes._

Belladonna Bachelor, nicknamed Bella, was in the park of Sunset Valley on that day. It was very sunny day in July and she wore her favourite rose red dress. She and her family, which consisted of her ambitious yet inappropriate father Angelo, nicknamed Simis, her sweet big mother Jocasta and her 12-year-old jock brother Michael, nicknamed Miche, were all at the park, because there was a festival.

There were all kinds of festivities going on. People were getting their photos taken by her father. It is worth mentioning that Simis worked for the local newspaper and he hadn't taken the day off. Instead, he decided that he wanted to have some family fun, while simultaneously working. Jocasta wasn't very fond of the idea, but what could she do?

Miche had long since gone to join the other boys at the soccer field. He was quite popular among the other children and quite frankly, so was Bella. Simis and Jocasta were constantly told how well-behaved Miche and Bella were. Miche was, despite the constant bad influence by the other boys, still a sweet gentleman who loved sports. Bella was a very well groomed girl, who spoke with a very sweet and kind tone to everyone.

The family trip did not turn out to be as planned. Simis was too busy with work, Miche was completely gone with the soccer and Jocasta was now drinking tea with some of her friends. All this left Bella all alone.

"Go and find some of your girl friends, you have lots!" Jocasta said, sitting on a bench with some of her friends, drinking tea.

"Alright, I'll do that." Bella said with a happy tone and walked away. Truth be told, she didn't want to be with her girl friends. They were very obsessed with playing with dolls and playing dress up. Bella liked playing with dolls and do dress up, but that was all that they ever did together and frankly, Bella didn't feel like it right now, even though she brought her favourite doll, Izza, along.

She walked around, trying to find children she knew. Things got interesting when the child she ran into was none other than Mortimer Goth, one of the "aristocrats", which was what the local children referred the rich people as. He was wearing black pants, a red shirt and a black tie. He was there with his parents, Gunther and Cornelia Goth, his aunt, Agnes Crumplebottom, and his cousin, Robert Crumplebottom. These two families were known to be quite the downers, always dressing in black and being serious and grumpy. Even now, Bella could feel the glooming atmosphere around them, even though she was quite a distance away from them.

Mortimer looked at her and, to her surprise, started to walk towards her. She had never even spoken to him before, since they went to different schools. Bella went to the local school and Mortimer went to the expensive private school. Bella's family was rich, being upper-middle class, but the Goths and the Crumplebottoms were seriously upper-class people. Their fortune had been in the family for generations, which was why they were called "aristocrats" in the first place. It was in fact the Goths who had founded the town, being the very first people to live here.

He was right in front of her now. "Hey, you're that Bachelor girl, aren't you?" Mortimer said, with a curious tone. Bella was slightly flattered. _The rich Mortimer Goth knew who she was!_ Bella nodded shyly. He actually knew who she was!

"Would you like to come with me to some of my friends behind these bushes for a second or two?" He asked with the same curious tone. Again, Bella nodded shyly. Mortimer turned around and walked behind the bushes he had referred to. Bella followed behind him.

When Mortimer had stopped by a little dam, there were two other boys there, both to Bella's amazement. It was really no surprise to see that someone like Mortimer Goth was friends with someone like Malcolm Landgraab, who wore white pants, a sleeveless blue shirt and a tie, whose great grandfather had built the town. You see, while the Goths had founded the town, the Landgraabs built it.

What Bella did not expect was to see Miraj Alvi here in fine clothes. He was a poor Muslim, whose mother had run away. They said that his parents had had a big fight the day prior to his mother's disappearance. There was no trace of her what so ever. She had vanished from the face of this earth.

Another thing about Miraj was that his family was poor, yet he and his brother, Vanda Jalal, nicknamed VJ, still went to private school. It was believed that it had to have something to do with the fact that Miraj's father, Iqbal, worked for Gunther and Gunther payed everything for them. Rumours say that Miraj is Mortimer's slave, because his father has told him to do so in order to thank Gunther. Wherever Mortimer was going, Miraj followed. And he never complained about anything.

"Who is she?" Malcolm asked with a curious tone. It was obvious that he was a little interested in Bella, because, well, who wouldn't, with Bella beauty?

"I brought her along." Mortimer answered politely. He looked at Bella, then reached into his pocket and pulled something out. It was money. Bella couldn't see how much it was, but it was a quite a bit. He started counting the money. Once he was finished, he put it in front of her.

"Here is $50! I'll give it to you if you'll kiss me!" He said, rather loudly. He tried to look serious, but it was obvious that he was embarrassed.

Bella looked stunned. She looked at Malcolm and Miraj looked indifferent. It was almost as if they had seen this before. Was that was they were doing? Asking girls to come behind a bush and pay them for kisses? It was kind of cute, when she really thought about it. _Oh well,_ she said to herself. _A little kiss won't do any harm._

And that was what she did. She kissed Mortimer for $50. She had her first kiss, as a 7-year-old, with a rich boy for $50.

Mortimer gave her the money which she thanked for and left. She was heading for her mother, who had now gone and looked at what few clothes were available for sale.

"Did you find any of your friends, Bella?" She asked in a very motherly tone. "No, but I think I made a new friend." Bella replied, happy. She pulled out the $50 and it caught Jocasta's attention in a second.

"Where did you get that?" She asked.

"I found it on the ground!" Bella replied, still happy.

"Oh, I wish I had your luck!" Jocasta said, and went back to looking at the clothes.

_Yes, "found" it. I am just lucky._

_Author's note: So that was the intro. I really hope you all enjoyed reading it, just as much as I enjoyed writing it. I don't know when the 1 chapter will be out, but I will try and put really much effort it._


	2. A new friend

The second kiss

_Author's note: So the story officially begins! I am really nervous. I have really tried to put effort into this chapter. The things in this chapter that may resemble real life have been over dramaticized._

Summer had officially ended and it was back to school. Bella was now in second grade. She didn't want to go back school. She would much rather never go back to school.

Miche and a friend of his, Davy Linnell, if Bella remembered correct, had gone out at 6 a.m. to deliver the newspaper. Miche had turned 13 years in summer, almost right after the festival. They had thrown a big party, where their family in Italy had come to America to visit. Their grandparents, grandfather Milton and grandmother Enriqueta, and their uncle, Adriano and his girlfriend, Adonica, had arrived too.

In school, Bella hated math. She was excited about English class because that was something she was good at, even though her parents thought that was bible classes. She loved reading books and being read to, because every once in a while, when they were in first grade, Miss Vatos, would read aloud to them a nice book or even the bible. Bella's mother had always told her to take her bible classes serious, but Bella preferred English.

Art classes were even better than English. To be able to create things using such simple tools, to make yourself dirty with colours. Bella loved every second of it, even though she wasn't as good as she would like to be. Many other girls were way better at both painting and drawing than she was. She was slightly jealous of them for it, but she knew that with practice, she could become a very good painter.

In fact, she knew, probably better than anyone else, that practice makes master. She played the piano herself and she was always complimented about how well she could play. In fact, at Miche's birthday, some of her cousins in Italy had asked her to play for them. She did and she ended up playing for them for an hour and a half!

When the clock was 15 minutes to 8 a.m. they went into the gym hall, where the principal and the teachers stood on in a line, side by side, with the principal in the front of a little stand. Almost everyone had brought their hymnbook along. Those who hadn't would have to look at someone else's book to sing along.

"Welcome back to school children!" he shouted, with a big smile on his face.

"I hope you have all had a very nice summer and I hope we will all have another wonderful year, with a brand new class coming to school!" By that, he meant the new first graders. They weren't here, of course. They were supposed to meet in a classroom with their teacher at 9 a.m. with their parents. They would talk, take a picture of the new class and it would be put in the record. It was a something that started a couple of years back, when they began to take pictures of children classes. Earlier, they only took pictures of the older people, at the universities.

"Let us all sing a song and then we will pray to God!" he said, as he picked up his hymnbook and started strolling through the pages. Everyone, including the teachers, started doing the same.

"Let us sing Jesus Lover Of My Soul!" he shouted, proudly. The music teacher, Miss Song, had broken out of the line and was heading towards the piano, that they had placed there. She played a verse and then everyone started to sing.

Well, not completely everyone. Bella, Miche and a few others didn't sing along. Even though it was mandatory that they did, they just moved their mouths, but they did not make a single sound.

Why? Because this song was a Christian song. Jocasta had told Bella and Miche to take their bible studies serious, but she had also told them that they must never abandon their Catholic belief. Their grandmother had told them that singing Christian hymns was a way of showing that you were a Christian.

They sang the song, but then came the worst: the prayer. Again, they clasped their hands together, bowed their heads, but they simply mouthed the words. This was difficult, because when they prayed, a teacher was walking around and was listening to the students praying, listening to what they were saying.

One boy got caught, but Bella and Miche were alright.

Bella was walking home. After the meeting in the gym hall, all the classes had gone to their main classroom. There, they met their new main teacher, this year it was a man named Dave Ramsey, who would be their English teacher. They met their other teachers as well. When it was 12 p.m. they were all allowed to go home.

Miche had decided that he wanted to go to some of his friends and left Bella to walk home all by herself.

As Bella walked home, she walked past the local Catholic Church. She stopped and looked at it. Though her family was rich, they couldn't afford to have her and Miche go to the Catholic school, the same school Mortimer Goth went to. _Mortimer Goth_. He had barely left her mind after they had kissed. She touched her lips lightly. _My first kiss_. Bella thought, as she stood and looked at the church.

"Standing here and looking at my church?" Bella spun around and saw him standing there. _Mortimer_. He was wearing the same pants as when she had kissed him, but he was now wearing a striped shirt.

_His_ church? How dared he! The church belonged to the people!

"What do you mean, when you say _your_ church?" She asked him, putting a real effort in saying word _your_.

"What I mean by _my_ church," he said, using the same effort and in a matter-of-factly tone, "is that my family owns the property of the church. We also paid for it to be built and our last name is inside the church."

Bella was stunned. This brat. Well, if he wanted a war, he would get one.

"Don't you remember me?" She asked, trying to sound innocent.

"I do indeed remember you." He said, with a softer tone. "Belladonna Bachelor, right?" she nodded as a response to his question.

"You have hurt my feelings, but I am willing to forgive you." She said, in a very diva-like way.

Mortimer looked at her with interest. _Seriously_, Bella thought, _what is wrong with me? Why do I act the way I do?_

"What do I have to do, for you to forgive me?" He asked. There was a sudden interest in his voice, like he really meant to want her forgiveness.

"Any offers?" She said. She had started walking towards him. Within 10 seconds, she was right in his face. She looked him deep in the eye.

"Another kiss, would that do it?" He asked. He had started to blush, making his chins slightly pink.

_Another kiss?_ Bella thought. Did she really want that? Another kiss? Maybe. Maybe she really did want another kiss.

"Right here? In front of your church?" She asked, with an odd tone.

"No, you're right." He said. Bella felt a tiny regret in that statement. "Let's go back to that place. The dam, where we kissed the first time."

Now it was Bella turn to blush. The same place where they had their first kiss. It was something she had only read about in one of her mother's love novels.

"Alright, let's go." She said, with a little smile on her face. They both started walking towards the park. It was getting exciting. She was about to have second kiss at the same place where she had her first with the same boy. She wondered if Miche had experienced this.

They arrived at the park. They went behind the bushes and to the dam. It was only 30 minutes to 1 p.m. and the sun was still shining. There were people in the park and no one really noticed them go behind the bushes.

Once they were there. Mortimer looked her deep in the eyes. Before she really knew it, his lips were on hers. She saw him close his eyes and she did the same.

It was only for about 5 seconds, but to her, it felt like years. Once they were done, he looked at kindly.

"The call you Bella, right?" He asked, sounding shy, all of a sudden.

"Yes." Was all she could say. What else was there to say to him?

"May I call you that too?" He asked, still sounding shy and his chins were now really pink, as were hers.

She nodded as a reply. She was really at a loss of words for this boy. Had she fallen in love with him?

"You can call me Morty that is what my mother calls me." He said. He was now looking down on the ground and was fumbling with his feet. Suddenly, his head shot up. "Would you like to come home to me and play?" He asked so suddenly that Bella was actually surprised by it. "I have a big garden and lots of toys to play with."

"Alright." She answered. There really wasn't any other way she could respond to that question.

And with that, they started walking to the Goth Manor.

_Author's note: Phew, this was a quite a difficult chapter to write. But I really hope that you all enjoyed it. I don't know when the 2__nd__ chapter will be out, but I will, again, try to put as much effort as I can into writing that chapter too. - JJ_


	3. The Goth family manor

The Goth family manor

_Warning: The Goth manor you may know will be nothing like in the Sims. It will be bigger and have more bedrooms, among other things. You have been warned._

They had been walking for good 30 minutes. Bella could see Morty's house. It was a huge Victorian manor, far bigger than Bella's own house. Of course, she had seen his house before, but this was the first time she was about to enter it. She felt a tinge of excitement, as they were walking towards it.

Suddenly, when the road split in two, one to the Goth manor and the other to the graveyard, Mortimer headed for the graveyard.

"Where are you going?"Bella asked, stopping in her tracks. "Your house is that way." She pointed at the big manor.

He stopped, turned around and looked at her; "I know, but I know a shortcut through the graveyard," he said, rather enthusiastically. "It's way faster that way!" he said, and turned around and started walking towards the graveyard.

Bella wasn't very fond of the idea. The last time she was in the graveyard was when a family friend had died and Bella was forced to go to the funeral.

None the less, she followed him to the graveyard.

...

They reached the graveyard and saw a car parked outside. It was a Ford and there was a very well-dressed man standing outside of it.

"Hello James, what are you doing here with my aunt's car?" Mortimer greeted the man. Bella had no idea who this man was or why he was even here.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Goth. I am here because your aunt wanted to visit her late husband's grave." James replied with a very no-nonsense tone.

_Mortimer's aunt... Agnes Crumplebottom..._ Bella thought. Everyone in town had heard about her and her late husband, a man named Eric Darling. The two had just gotten married and were on a honeymoon, when Eric had mysteriously drowned in a swimming pool.

"Me and my new friend will go in and say 'hi,'" He said, "we will maybe come along with you, if aunt Agnes allows it." He said again, looking very serious at James.

"Yes sir, you as you like." James answered with the same no-nonsense tone as earlier.

Once he had said that, Mortimer turned around and headed into the graveyard.

_He must be a butler, or something._ Bella thought to herself. This amazed Bella. Just how rich was this family? A butler or a driver of the sister of the housewife, that calls the young heir of the family 'sir'?

Bella didn't think too much about it. She just turned around and followed Mortimer into the graveyard.

...

The graveyard in Sunset Valley was called Pleasant Rest Graveyard. It could seem to be an exotic garden with all kinds of animals, bugs and plants. But today it was not an exotic garden. There was no sign of any animal anywhere, not even bugs and even though summer had just ended, the leaves on the trees and the flowers had already started wittering. The weather had also changed rapidly since an hour ago. Earlier today it had been sunny, but clouds had now surrounded them.

"My family also owns the graveyard." Mortimer said out of nowhere. He didn't seem to brag about it, like he had when he had told her that his family owned the local Catholic Church.

"Really?" Bella asked. She wasn't really surprised about it, since Morty's family was as wealthy as they were.

Mortimer didn't reply to her question. Instead, he was heading for, what could look like, a blonde woman, dressed in nothing but black.

It was Agnes Crumplebottom, Mortimer Goth's aunt, who had been widowed after only a few days of marriage.

She was very beautiful. With her back facing Bella, Bella could see that her thick blonde hair was slightly tied in a bun, her elegant knee-length black dress covered with and equally long black coat. When she turned around, Bella could her slightly red face and eyes, and her mascara which was also on her cheeks, revealed that she had been crying.

Looking closely at her, she seemed to be perfect in body shape. She was neither too skinny nor too big. She was almost as beautiful as Marilyn Monroe.

Agnes reached for her pocket and pulled out a white napkin. She whipped her cheeks and eyes with it, to remove the wet mascara.

"Hello Morty.." She said, in a low and shaking voice, she was absolutely adorable.

"Hello Aunt Agnes." Mortimer replied, as if he was oblivious to her beauty. "Visiting Eric's grave again?"

She whipped her left eye with the napkin. "Yes... Yes I am." She sounded so sad. Bella felt so sorry for her. She didn't deserve what she got.

"Me and Bella, the girl standing right behind me," Mortimer said, looking back at Bella, "are going home to us. So if you are finished here today, can we drive with you home?"

"Of course Morty dear," She finished whipping her right eye, "you don't even have to ask about that."

With that, all three of them started heading towards the graveyard entrance, towards James and the car.

...

When they arrived at the Goth manor, Bella was stunned. It was far bigger up close than in the distance.

James exited the car and opened up their doors for them. They all climbed out of the car and they were heading for the house now.

They walked across the bridge. Bella looked at the fishes which were swimming in the pond. Bella could see that there were different kinds. These must've been very rare fishes, because Bella didn't know the name of one kind.

When they were at the staircase, Bella heart started to beat faster. This was the first time she had ever been inside this mansion before. Everyone she knew had never been in here, as far as she knew.

James opened the main doors and they entered. There was a long hallway with many doors. Agnes and James took off their coats and hung them up. Bella and Mortimer had no coats, so they were good. It was a good thing that they were inside now, since it had just started to rain outside.

Bella and Mortimer took off their shoes, but Agnes and James didn't. They just walked right through the long hallway in silence and entered a door. Bella was left alone with Mortimer once again.

"So," Mortimer started, shyly, "what do you want to do?" He looked at her with honesty.

Bella had no idea what she wanted to do. What was there to do in this big manor? What kinds of toys did Mortimer own? What kinds games did he know how to play? Bella didn't know.

"Shall we go up to your room first?" She asked, just to get somewhere. She was also very curious. Mortimer was, after all, very rich, so he must've had a very big bedroom.

Mortimer was leading the way through the manor. There were so many doors. Bella followed him upstairs and there were even more doors upstairs than downstairs.

Finally, Mortimer stopped in front of a door. Bella was amazed that he had found his own room with all these doors.

"This is where I will be sleeping in this house." He said, without even looking at her. _What?_ Bella thought. 'This is where I will be sleeping in this house'? Didn't his family live here?

As they entered, Bella looked around the room. There was almost nothing in here. All which was in the room were a children's bed, a desk with a chair, a box and a big wardrobe. This was not what Bella had been expecting.

"You don't really have much in your room." Bella said, still surprised by the lack of things in the room.

"Yes, but that is because we don't really live here." He said, as he walked over to the box and started looking around in it. "This manor belongs to the Goth family, but we don't really live here. It is too big for five people."

"Then why are you even here?" Bella asked. Thinking back, she regretted that she said what she had just said. She had sounded so rude.

"It's because we will soon have a family reunion. I have a big family. My father has several cousins, and they and their children will come to Sunset Valley for a family reunion." He quit looking for what he was originally looking for and looked at Bella instead. "I am not really all that close to any of them, if you're wondering. I only see them once a year."

Bella wondered of many cousins his father had. There couldn't be that many of them.

Suddenly, they heard screaming and yelling out in the hallway. Both Bella and Mortimer looked at the direction of the door. Bella was unsure, but sounded a lot like Agnes. She was fighting with another woman.

Mortimer rushed out of the room with Bella on his heels. They both ran down the stairs and ran into what could be called a living room, where Agnes, Mortimer's parents, his cousin Robert, James and an old woman were.

"I don't care about what you say, if I am moving out on my own, I am taking Robert with me!" Agnes screamed, tears in her eyes. She was no longer in her coat and her thick, wavy shoulder length hair was loose.

"I don't really think so, Agnes, Robert must be the heir to the family so it's best that we raise him." Cornelia, Mortimer's mother answered in a very cold tone. She had black hair which she wore in a bun She dress was ankle length dress and black and her shirt was long sleeved and dark gray. She didn't really wear any make-up, though she had mascara.

Agnes looked at Gunther, who stood by a sofa. He was wearing a black suit with a black tie. His hair was red, short and well groomed. He had a little moustache, same colour as his hair. He was only one who had noticed Bella and Mortimer at the entrance, because he was looking at them.

Agnes looked at the direction that he was looking and saw them too. Everyone now looked at them, even James and the old woman. They had all calmed down, now that there were two children looking at what they were doing. Apparently, Robert didn't really count, since he was only three years old and didn't know what was going on.

"What are you all arguing about?" Mortimer asked, in a very sad tone. Bella felt sympathy for him. It wasn't fun when your family was fighting over something.

"Oh, Morty dear, we are just fighting over stupid things." Cornelia said, in a very reassuring tone. She walked over to him, bent down and grabbed his face with her hands. She leaned over to him and whispered something in his ear.

Suddenly, she looked at Bella. "Who is your pretty friend, Morty?" It was obvious that she was trying to change the glooming mood.

"I am.." Bella couldn't really get the words out. They had been screaming at each other a second ago and now they were all buddy-buddy with each other. It was weird.

"Don't be shy, my dear," Gunther said suddenly. He had been silent the entire time. "just say you name, dear."

"I am Belladonna Bachelor." She finally said. "I am the daughter of Angelo and Jocasta Bachelor."

"You're Mr. Bachelor's daughter?" Gunther said. "The journalist?" Bella nodded. "I have a meeting with him in the morning." He said kindly. Like Bella, he didn't really seem like the awkward atmosphere.

"Morty, this isn't a very good time for you to take a friend here at the manor. The reunion is tonight and you have to get ready." Cornelia said. She was still kneeling in front of him with her hands around his face. "You can meet up with her once this reunion is over, at our home, okay?"

Mortimer turned to look at Bella, then he turned back to Cornelia. "I will just follow her home then." He said, with a very sad tone.

"Well, it is raining outside, so James will drive her home." She said, still with a very motherly voice.

"I want to go with her" Mortimer said, with a childish, but still sad tone.

Cornelia finally stood up; "Alright, you can go along with them, since we still have some things we have to talk about around here." She said and began walking towards James. Right before walking out, Bella saw that she was whispering something to him.

They walked to the front door, got their coats and shoes and went out into the rain. Bella followed Mortimer to a car, which was not the same car as Agnes had. James came running after them.

They all got into the car, James started it and began driving into down with them. He was driving very slowly.

"Do you live close by here, Miss Bachelor?" James asked. No one had ever really called her 'Miss Bachelor' out of servitude. It had always been her teachers, who had called her that.

"It is not very far from here, sir." Bella replied. Mortimer was being awfully quit.

"I am sorry that your visit was so short, Bella." He apologised.

"Oh, never mind that." Bella said. "Maybe, once this reunion of yours is over, I can come and visit you at your home!" She tried to be enthusiastic. Mortimer smiled slightly at that.

Bella looked at the houses they were driving past. Before she knew it, they were outside her house. "I live here!" She said and James stopped the car right away.

Bella got out off the car; "Thank you for driving me home." She said.

"No worries!" Mortimer reassured. "Remember, you will come and visit me after the reunion is over!" Bella smiled at that. James started driving again and they were gone almost right away.

Bella started walking up to her house and she was thinking: Mortimer's parents were fighting over an heir? Wasn't Mortimer the Goth family's heir? He has a large family.

Thinking about all these things gave Bella a headache, but there was one thing she was sure of. Under his smugness, Mortimer was just as any other boys. He had seen his family fight and he was sad about it. He wasn't really a weirdo. He was more than a spoiled rich kid. He was a Human.

_-JJ_


	4. The family reunion - part 1

The family reunion

_This chapter here will be Mortimer's POV (Point Of View). It will be about the family reunion and Mortimer's family. All these characters here are OCs (Own Characters) and cannot be found in game. – JJ_

Mortimer was in his room, looking at himself in the mirror. He was wearing a black suit, tie, shoes and a white shirt. His mother had groomed him very well. He actually thought that he himself looked very neat.

But what he was not very excited about was to meet his relatives of his father's side. It was a waste of time, really. They saw each other once a year, which was when there was this reunion. They didn't even come together for Christmas or any other holiday. Other than that, there was no other time when they met up.

No wait. Yes, there was a time when they all showed up at this manor. That was when there was a funeral. But that was more about what the dead had left behind and what they were willing to give to whom, rather than getting together and grieving about losing a loved one.

That was at least of Mortimer had experienced it. Like when Grandfather Victor's brother, Samuel, and his wife, Olivia, and Aunt Frida had died. They had all moved to a town called Moonlight Falls. Samuel had died in February in 1946, by mysterious reasons, and less than two months after his funeral, there is a fire at the old house and both Olivia and Frida are found dead, an hour after the fire was reported.

Mortimer remembered the spectacle of who got what, since, apparently, none of the three people saw their deaths coming and did not write down their final will down. It was madness. Everyone was fighting over what to get, since the most valuable had been burned by the fire, so it was all about the surviving goods.

Not to mention, they were to expecting. They expected everything to be perfect. Clothes, food, manor, everything had to be perfect. If it was not, they would start to whisper about the mistake you had made, sometimes in low husky voices and others times they would openly mock it.

But one thing was for sure: Who was the heir of the family was no doubt about. It had been Grandfather Victor, then it had been Gunther, his own father and Mortimer was next in line. Yes, when he had become an adult, he would be the head of the family. The oldest, or sometimes, only, son of the oldest son. Mortimer didn't really know what to think of it. It seemed very surreal that if there had been one thing which had happened, he would not be the heir. And they were so close, so close...

That was why he preferred his mother's family. They were rich and very uptight, but at least they had compassion that his father's family did not. They actually grieved when a family member died and. But it was this family that Mortimer was going to be the head of. He envied Robert a little bit.

"Mr. Goth." a female voice was outside of his room, knocking on the door. They really didn't have any other servants, other than their butler and driver, James, but since they were going to have a reunion, they had hired many people, just for this evening. Chefs, maids, bartenders, etc., they were all here.

The woman entered. She light skinned, fair-haired and wore the custom maid outfit that his mother had demanded that they all did.

"Your mother, Mrs. Goth, wants you to come downstairs and greet the guests who have arrived, sir."

_Sir_. Really? Did she have to say 'sir' to a young boy? Probably his mother's indirect order to every servant. Probably trying to impress the family, letting them know their place. Reminding them that it was Mortimer, who was next in line to the head of the family and not any of their sons. Yes, after his father's death, Mortimer would be in charge of the family and they better not forget that.

"Please tell her I'll be down soon." He replied, trying to sound nice. The woman nodded and left the room, closing the door behind her.

Mortimer looked himself in the mirror. Was he ready to see them all again? Did he look nice? Was everything perfect? Was the food good? Was it ready to be served? Did his father bring the right wine? _Damn it._

Mortimer took a deep breath. He walked towards the door, twisted the knob and opened it. The smell of the food was very strong. He personally thought it smelled great, but would they think so?

He stepped outside to the hallway and headed towards the stairs. He could feel his heart beat harder. He started to feel warm he could feel the sweat form on his forehead.

_Oh no, this is bad!_ He stopped in his tracks. _They mustn't see this!_ They mustn't see that he was becoming wet with his sweat and his face was turning red. _They mustn't see this!_

He started to head towards his room, when someone grabbed his arm, stopping him on his escape to safety.

"What is taking you so long?" It was his mother, Cornelia. Her hair was up in a bun and she wore a floor length, elegant black dress. She didn't wear a lot of make-up, but then again, she almost never did. "Some of your second cousins are already here!" She sounded very enthusiastic, but Mortimer knew, that she was just a nervous as he was.

She let go of his arm and held his hand instead. They both went hand in hand down stairs. It made Mortimer feel a little better, but he knew that they worst was yet to come.

...

"Hello Mortimer! Glad to see you again!" Sabrina Dalton, Grandfather Victor's youngest sister, said with a very happy voice. She was in her sixties and her hair had turned gray a long time ago. Her body was very slender. She was a widow, with two children and five grandchildren, all raging from the ages of 17 to ten. She, like Cornelia, wore a floor-length, elegant dress, only hers was brown and she wore more jewellery.

"Hello Sabrina! Long time no see!" Cornelia greeted her for Mortimer. They then started talking about things that Mortimer had no interest in. Garden things, apparently. They both had green thumbs. That was good. Mortimer could always count on his mother to come to his rescue, when it came to the family.

Mortimer left his mother and Sabrina. They were pretty deep in their talk, Sabrina having found a strange black rose in her garden the other day. Mortimer didn't really care. Or maybe he did. He liked looking at flowers and trees. He maybe didn't have any interest in it because two grown women were talking about it.

He was on his way into the big living room. There were a few sofas and chairs, a big fireplace with fire in it. Right next to the living room was the dining room, where they would all be having their meals.

"Little Morty! How are you?" Mortimer heard a high voice behind him. He turned around and saw Chubby Clare, as he and his mother called her, who was the widow of Carrick, Grandfather Victor's youngest brother. Her hair was gray like the others', she wore her short hair loose, but in curls and her purple dress was probably sized.

She and Carrick had two children and, so far, only two grandchildren, the older one being 8-years-old and the younger one being only six, making her the youngest person who would be at this reunion.

Mortimer smiled to her. He didn't really know what else to do. He knew that she was faking kindness. She had to. Have him do something wrong, so she can gossip it to the other members of the family.

"Are you excited for the dinner?" She asked eagerly with a big smile. She wasn't called Chubby Clare for nothing. He knew what the other family members said about her. Someone, who was married into the family and was a disgrace. Having no control, she was usually the first person to start eating, the first to finish her meal and the first to fill up the plate again. And surprise, surprise, when it came to dessert, guess who was the first to take a bite of the cake?

"Yes, you will enjoy what we have to serve." Mortimer said, with a crooked grin. He knew that she was getting excited about the food already.

"Oh," she said, her making an "O", "will you tell me?" She asked, with a big smile.

"No, it must be a surprise!" Mortimer said, trying to sound eager. He wanted to impress, to make sure that she was not going to talk about him.

"Oh look at you!" She said with a very pitchy voice. "You look adorable!" She fumbled with his suit and his hair, all the while having a big teeth-showing smile. "I could almost eat you!" She said and started to head towards the dining room. Mortimer didn't know if she meant it as a metaphor or as a literal. Did he really want to know?

"Morty dear!" He heard his mother's voice come towards him. "Most of the guests have already arrived! Please come into the living room and see them." She took his arm and pulled him with her, without giving him a chance to reply.

...

Mortimer was sitting in a rocking chair in the living room. He looked across the room and looked at his family members.

They were all here. The men wore simple suits, but the women were all in different dresses and had nice hair:

The red-haired siblings, Felix Goth and Mia Duke, the son and daughter of Carrick and Clare Goth. They were with their partners and children as well. Felix was with his fair-haired wife, Rose, and their little red-haired daughter, Mary. Mia was with her husband, the brunet Ronan Duke, with their daughter, the brunette Alicia.

Then there was the Thane family. All three of them were men, all sons of Grace, Carrick's twin sister, and Gregory Thane, both deceased.

The oldest son and the head of the Thane family, Atticus, and his wife, Scarlett, and their two daughters, Ana and Mia, were also here.

Scarlett very skinny and wore a red, strapless, floor-length dress with high heels to match. Her long blonde hair fell elegantly down her back. She did not look like she was 40-years-old, but she was.

Their two, 13-year-old twin daughters, Ana and Mia, were reflections of each other. They had inherited their father's rich copper brown hair, which was a common trait in the Thane family, and they let it flow down their backs. It was most likely Scarlett who had made them grow their hair so long. Mortimer wondered if Scarlett made them starve themselves as well, since they were both so skinny. _They are going to have a hard time finding husbands_. They both wore red knee length dresses, most likely chosen by Scarlett.

The second oldest son, Asher Thane, was here with his wife, Sophia, and their son, Quinn. If Atticus didn't get a son sooner or later, Quinn would be next in the line as the head of the Thane family.

Sophia was in a floor-length dress, which was dark blue and it had sleeves. Her hair was medium blonde and tied in a bun. She was not as elegant as Scarlett. They were actually complete opposites. Scarlett was very skinny, while Sophia was average.

15-year-old Quinn had inherited the rich copper brown hair. It looked like he was about to grow a little beard. He looked average, like his mother. Mortimer wondered what he thought when he saw his first cousins like that.

The third and last brother was Holden Thane, with his wife, Erica, and his two children, Caroline, who was 13-years-old, and Henry, who was 11.

Erica was average, like Sophia, and wore an ankle-length, dark gray dress and her black hair was tied up in a bun.

Caroline was also in a gray dress and it resembled Erica's a lot, but hers was knee-length. Her hair was loose and it was in waves.

Unlike the other Thane children, Caroline and Henry had not inherited the rich copper brown hair. Their hair was black like their mother's.

The last people Mortimer saw were the Daltons. Sabrina's husband, Vernon Dalton, had died the year prior, but they had left behind their fair share of family members.

The older daughter, Ana Lehman, was married to Sawyer Lehman, a brunet. They had two sons, 17-year-old Jude and 15-year-old Liam.

The younger brother, who was Rhys Dalton, had come with his wife, Thea, and their three children, Oliver, 14, Ella, 12, and Stella, 10.

Thea and Ana must've planned something out, because they wore very similar dresses. They were both gray, but Thea had a long-sleeved one and Ana had a short-sleeved one, but it was very wavy.

"Alright, everyone!" Gunther said, with a loud dominating voice. "Now that we are all here and dinner is ready, shall we go and get ourselves a bite?"

Everyone, who was sitting down, rose up and started heading towards the dining room. Mortimer started to get nervous again. Everyone would be looking at him, judging him. He had to do this right. He couldn't mess this up.

_Alright, let's do this!_

_To be continued._

_Author's note: I am sorry that I had to cut this chapter in half, but if I write everything in one, this is going to be a very long chapter and it will be boring to read then. So this chapter has been mostly about describing the family members. The next chapter will still be the reunion, but it will be less describing everyone. - JJ_


End file.
